1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a structure of a side portion of a vehicle body, and more particularly to a structure of a side portion of a vehicle body having a side outer panel in which a side sill outer member and a pillar outer member are integrally constructed.
2. Description of the Related Art
As shown in FIG. 5, a conventional structure of a side portion of a vehicle body includes a side outer panel 78, in which a front pillar outer portion 70, a roof rail outer portion 72, a side sill outer portion 74 and a center pillar outer portion 76 are integrally formed. This structure is well known, and an example thereof is shown in Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. 60-157374.
According to this structure of the side portion of the vehicle body, a side inner portion 88, in which a front pillar inner portion 80, a roof rail inner portion 82, a side sill inner portion 84 and a center pillar inner portion 86 are integrally formed, is disposed at the interior of the side outer panel 78. A side sill reinforcing member 90 is provided at the rear portion of the structure between the side sill outer portion 74 and the side sill inner portion 84.
As shown in FIG. 6, in this type of a structure of a side portion of a vehicle body, the side sill inner portion 84 of the side inner portion 88 has connecting flanges 84A and 84B. The side sill reinforcing member 90 has connecting flanges 90A and 90B. The side sill outer portion 74 of the side outer panel 78 has connecting flanges 74A and 74B. The three members 84A, 90A, and 74A are superposed and connected together. In the same way, the other three members 84B, 90B, and 74B are superposed and connected together.
Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 7, the front pillar outer portion 70 and the center pillar outer portion 76 or the like of the side outer panel 78, which form a design surface of a vehicle body, swell outwardly in the transverse direction of the vehicle. In this case, a drawing depth H1 of the side sill outer portion 74 becomes too large with respect to a width W of the cross section of the side sill, which is necessary to maintain the rigidity of the side sill portion. (W is the maximum length of the cross-sectional lengths of the side sill in the transverse direction of the vehicle body. H1 is the length of the longest normal line among a plurality of lines normal to a reference line whose lengths are respectively defined as a distance between the side sill outer panel 74 and the reference line. The reference line connects the end portion which projects furthest inwardly in the transverse direction of the vehicle among the connecting portions between the roof rail outer portion 72 and the roof rail inner portion 82 in the upward direction of the vehicle, and a connecting portion between the connecting flanges 74B and 90B.) As a result, a difference between the amount H2 by which the center pillar outer portion 76 and the like swell outwardly in the transverse direction of the vehicle and the drawing depth H1 cannot be made large at a design surface of the vehicle body. The design surface includes the front pillar outer portion 70, the center pillar outer portion 76 and the like which form the side outer panel 78. (H2 is the length of the longest normal line among a plurality of lines normal to the aforementioned reference line whose lengths are respectively defined as a distance between the side outer panel 78 and the reference line.)